CitiBank dan Pelestarian Hutan

Sebagai salah satu Bank yang cukup ternama, ternyata CitiBank memiliki konsep yang sungguh mulia. Konsep paperless.

Sebagai salah satu nasabahnya yang memilih untuk menggunakan layanan Citibank Electronic Statement, baru saja mendapatkan ucapan terima kasih dari Citibank. Bukan sekedar terima kasih biasa. Namun terima kasih telah membantu Citibank untuk berpartisipasi dalam usaha mengurangi penggunaan kertas untuk mempertahankan kelestarian hutan. Wowww .....

Nice ...
Mengurangi kertas untuk mempertahankan kelestarian hutan ...

Bahkan bukan itu saja, Citibank juga rutin melakukan aktivitas penanaman pohon bakau dan mangrove di kawasan Angke Kapuk, DKI. Sayang sekali saya berada di Surabaya, sehingga tidak bisa turut berpartisipasi program penanaman tersebut.

Semoga niat mulia ini, mendapatkan apresiasi yang baik oleh masyarakat. Serta mendapatkan balasan dari Tuhan atas usahanya dalam turut serta menyelamatkan bumi ini.

Save The Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros Sondaicus)

The Javan Rhino is the rarest of the rhino species with fewer than 60 animals surviving in only two known locations: one in Indonesia (approximately 40-50 animals) and the other in Vietnam (fewer than five individuals).

In Indonesia, Javan rhinos live only in Java’s Ujung Kulon National Park, where the population appears to have stabilized, largely because they are physically guarded from harm by Rhino Protection Units. The continuation of this protection, combined with establishing a second population in Indonesia, provides the best possible hope for the species’ survival.

The Javan Rhino is found only in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park and Vietnam’s Cat Loc Reserve, primarily in lowland tropical rainforest.

Javan rhinos appear to be more adaptable feeders than other rhino species: in the tropical rainforest where the species now survives, it is a pure browser, but it possibly was a mixed feeder (both browse and grass) in other parts of its historic range where the species is generally believed to have occupied more lowland areas, especially along watercourses.

Longevity is unknown, but Javan rhinos probably live to 30-40 years.

Gestation is unknown but is presumed to be approximately 15-16 months, as in other rhinos. Inter-birth intervals are unknown, but mothers probably give birth to one calf every 1-3 years.

Females reach sexual maturity between 5 and 7 years of age; males mature at approximately 10 years of age.

Javan rhinos are solitary in nature.

Source : http://www.rhinos-irf.org/javan/

The Six Layers of Vegetation in a Forest

Forests are habitats in which the trees are the dominant form of vegetation. They occur in many regions and climates around the globe—the tropical rainforests of the Amazon basin, the temperate forests of eastern North America, and the boreal forests of northern Europe are just a few examples.

The species composition of a forest is often unique to that forest, with some forests consisting of many hundreds of species of trees while others consist of just a handful of species. Forests are constantly changing and progress through a series of successional stages during which species composition changes within the forest.

Thus, making general statements about forest habitats can be difficult. Yet despite the variability of our planet's forests, there are some basic structural characteristics that many forests share—characteristics that can help us to better understand both forests and the animals and wildlife that inhabit them.

Mature forests often have several distinct vertical layers.

These include:

• forest floor
• herb layer
• shrub layer
• understory
• canopy
• emergents

These different layers provide a mosaic of habitats and enable animals and wildlife to settle into various pockets of habitat within the overall structure of a forest.

The forest floor is often blanketed with decaying leaves, twigs, fallen trees, animal scat, moss, and other detritus.

The forest floor is where recycling occurs, fungi, insects, bacteria, and earthworms are among the many organisms that break down waste materials and ready them for reuse and recycling throughout the forest system.

The herb layer of the forest is dominated by herbaceous (or soft-stemmed) plants such as grasses, ferns, wildflowers, and other ground cover. Vegetation in the herb layer often gets little light and in forests with thick canopies, shade tolerant species are predominant in the herb layer.

The shrub layer is characterized by woody vegetation that grows relatively close to the ground. Bushes and brambles grown where enough light passes through the canopy to support shrub growth.

The understory of a forest consists of immature trees and small trees that are shorter than the main canopy level of the tree. Understory trees provide shelter for a wide range of animals. When gaps form in the canopy, often times understory trees take advantage of the opening and grow to fill in the canopy.

The canopy is the layer where the crowns of most of the forest's trees meet and form a thick layer.

Emergents are trees whose crowns emerge above the rest of the canopy.

Source : http://animals.about.com